Simple Asian Carrot Salad

Gold, silver bronze....!! Is watching all these super fit Olympic athletes making you feel slightly sluggish and out of shape? Well here's the perfect summer dish which might help. Crunchy raw carrots are a wonderful and healthy accompaniment to many dishes both hot and cold. Coleslaw is popular but for a change we thought you might like to try this simple Asian version which drops the mayonnaise. Here we suggest using just carrots but white cabbage, celeriac and mooli (daikon) are delicious mixed in too. This carrot salad which is best made a little in advance is incredibly versatile and great as a side to grilled chicken, red meat and fish or even pasta dishes such as lasagne and chilli con carne where the hot/cold contrast plays with the taste buds and lends interest. The quantities below are a guide. You are looking for a pleasant balance between the acidic ingredients the salt and the sweet and you'll only really achieve that by tasting. The recipe calls for a little mirin widely used in Japanese cooking. It's sweet and may contain a little alcohol but once you have it in the cupboard you will start finding many uses for it. Rice wine vinegar also called rice vinegar is one step more in the process which creates rice wine. It is also far more acidic. By the way sultanas or chopped dates or apricots will add a fruity note for variety. The mix will keep in the fridge for several days but the acids will "cook" the carrots slowly softening them.

Bright cheerful and healthy crunchiness

Ingredients

2 tbsps mirin
2 tbsps rice wine vinegar
1 1tbsp honey
1 tsp castor sugar
1 tsp salt
handful chopped walnuts
1 tsp black sesame seeds
4 to 5 carrots peeled and grated





Method

Mix the first seven ingredients in a small bowl and stir to dissolve the salt and sugar. Grate the carrots in a food processor (we find the julienne attachment gives the best results) and place in a mixing bowl. Pour in the marinade and mix well. Leave for a few minutes for the flavours to blend and the walnuts to soften slightly and loose their bitterness. The salt will draw a little moisture out of the carrots but don't worry this is normal. Either drain off or mix back into the grated carrot. Serve slightly chilled with a sprinkle of black sesame seeds.

Pol Sambol, Moju and Dal - by Ghaz

Last week Romesh and I  made a fantastic Sri Lankan curry but of course that is not the full story, so while the chicken was bubbling away we turned our attention to the supporting cast. There are numerous condiment dishes normally served which compliment and enhance the main star. For example many countries around the Indian ocean rim have a version of the coconut dish Pol Sambol. Known simply as sambal in my own country Malaysia, whilst in neighbouring Indonesia and Singapore it comes in numerous varieties such as sambal belacan made with dried shrimp, sambal goreng a fried version and even sambal tempoyak made with fermented durian and anchovies!! But before you stop reading the version which has become our favourite is actually from the island of Sri Lanka. It was Romesh of course who introduced me to this one. It is fantastic with curries, dals and pulses, grilled meats and rice which the zingy lime and chilli cuts straight through. A word of caution though it can be spicy for the uninitiated so use discretion with the chilli! By the way Maldive fish called for in the recipe is dried tuna and is a staple of those islands' cuisine as well as Sri Lanka's. It does enhance and improve the flavour but if you leave it out don't worry. Finally when grating the coconut you need to be careful it doesn't become a paste. Our local Thai shop On Hogarth Road in Earls Court has a wonderful grater and does it for us.

Ingredients
1 fresh Coconut
1 red onion or 4 shallots
2 tsp chilli powder
1 Lime
1 tbsp Maldive fish flakes (optional)
I diced green chilli
1 clove Garlic
Method
Break open the coconut shell, remove the flesh and grate with a box grater. Chop the onion or shallots very finely. Add the coconut, onion, garlic, chilli and fish (if using) together and squeeze in the lime juice and mix well.

Similarly Moju is designed to complement curry dishes. It is a Sri Lankan pickle made from aubergine, onion and vinegar.

Ingredients
Half cup Black mustard seeds
White or red wine vinegar
Garlic
Fresh ginger
Sugar
Salt
1 Aubergine
1 Onion
2 Tbsp vegetable oil

Method
Put half the mustard seed in a bowl and cover with vinegar and stand over night.  When ready to prepare slice the aubergine into strips, add salt and turmeric and allow to stand for 15 - 20 minutes to extract bitter juice. Meanwhile put mustard, vinegar and sugar in a blender with the ginger and garlic and blend until smooth paste. Heat oil and fry remaining mustard seeds till they pop . Add paste and cook for about 5 minutes. Fry aubergine and onion separately and drain and combine with paste. Add salt to taste.

Dal
Ingredients
2 cups Myshore Dal
2 Tsp mustard seeds
2 tsp Chilli powder
Half tsp Turmeric
1 Inch of cinnamon stick
1 Tsp Maldive fish (optional)
2 cloves Garlic (paste)
1 Large onion diced
8 Curry Leaves
1 Tbsp Curry Powder
4 Inch Pandan leaf
Juice of half lime
Half can Coconut milk
2 Tbsp Vegetable oil
Salt to taste

Method
Rinse dal until the water runs clear then add the turmeric and boil (uncovered) in water at least one inch above the pulses until soft (about 10 - 15 minutes), topping up with hot water if necessary.

Meanwhile heat the oil in a pan and fry mustard seeds, cinnamon, chilli powder, onion, pandan leaf, curry powder and leaves until aromatic and the mustard seeds start to pop and dance! Finally add garlic and cook for a further one minute. Combine well and add to the dal together with coconut milk, lime juice and salt to taste.

Spicy Rice is Twice as Nice!

We have been asked to post a blog as quickly as possible by two of our greatest fans one living in Kuala Lumpur and the other currently studying in Melbourne Australia. They are Julie and Josie two of my lovely nieces. Josie is experiencing living away from home for the first time and Julie too has struck out and now has a trendy apartment in KL. Earlier this year Julie came skiing with me to Baqueira in the Pyrenees where we had great fun cooking together. We even used to get up in the middle of the night to polish off the left overs of what we had made that day. Learning to ski can be a hungry business. We have blogged about this earlier and you can read about the delicious tummy filling Spanish tortilla below. 

This recipe is equally filling and just as simple. It is a one pot rice dish so makes no mess and could have been specially designed to utilise any items lying around. The ingredients are variable and so the list below is intended only as a guide. The only rule is there are no rules. Just remember you are looking for colour and the vegetable pieces should be roughly the same size. I should mention at this point that I use a rice cooker for this dish. Yes even in far away Baquiera the rice cooker travels with us along with much other kitchen paraphernalia, much to the disapproval of our host who is concerned about the damage to our image on arrival at Spain's premiere ski resort. Personally I have never worried about such things, years ago I brought one back as hand luggage from KL before they were widely available here in London. If you don’t have one you can use a large saucepan. If you like rice, however perhaps you should consider investing. They take all the guess work and uncertainty out of rice preparation. Either way you just place all the ingredients listed below together and do NOT stir. If using a rice cooker the switch will pop up when the rice is ready. If using a saucepan heat vigorously at the start and then allow to cook gently on a low heat for about 10 to 12 minutes or until you are happy with the texture of the rice. 

Ingredients (4 portions)

2 ½  cups Basmati or long grain rice

1 tbsp chilli flakes

1 tbsp cumin powder

1 tbsp coriander powder

1 tbsp curry powder

¾ tbsp salt

½  tsp turmeric powder

Vegetable or chicken stock cube

2 star anise or 1 cinnamon stick

2 or 3 Bay leaves or 8 curry leaves

4 tbsp cooking or olive oil

1 medium onion chopped

3 carrots chopped

½  cup peas

1 red pepper chopped

2 sticks celery chopped

1 small can sweet corn

1 inch ginger chopped

3 ½  cups water

Ghaz 

A wok in the park!

A wok must be one of the most useful utensils in the kitchen and is well worth the investment. No home should be without one. If you are without one and thinking of buying just make sure it is suitable for your type of hob as many are not designed for western stoves. It is worth doing a little research before you purchase. In Europe we tend to associate woks with one particular type of cooking style probably as a result of our exposure to Chinese take aways but with a little lateral thinking it can be used for many different types of cooking such as frying, stir frying, braising, deep frying, boiling and steaming, searing and stewing. Indeed over much of Asia where one ring cookers are the norm it is probably the only cooking vessel in many homes. As far as we are concerned we both discovered this style of cooking at very different times, no prizes for guessing which one grew up watching his mum and sisters cook with a wok over a fierce heat whilst the other had to wait to go to California in his early 20's to be introduced to the wonders of stir fry in 1980's. But whatever the introduction once tried it has remained a favourite cooking method ever since. It is quick, healthy and easy to master and more importantly the texture and crunchiness of vegetables along with their nutritional content is maintained better than any other cooking method we know. Besides it is one pot cooking so cuts down on mess and the washing up. A piece of cake, a walk in the park!


If you haven't cooked with a wok before and are trying one out the recipe below is simple, straight forward and fun. It is a great way to get into the mind set required and once you master this one you will be able to cook almost anything. In this recipe we have listed some of our favourite vegetables but many others can be used like carrot, celery courgettes, broccoli, French beans, cauliflower etc etc etc. The rule of thumb is of course to give the hardest vegetables the longest cooking time. Also its easiest indeed essential to have prepared all your ingredients beforehand as stir fry cooking is so fast it requires your full attention and once you start and there is very little time to do anything. The list of ingredients looks long but most are items necessary for wok cooking and once you have bought them once the will stay in your store cupboard indefinitely.Two wooden spatulas are probably best for tossing.

Ingredients (serves two)

1 large breast of chicken sliced
1 red onion chopped
1 red pepper chopped
Handful mange touts
Handful baby sweetcorn (halved lengthwise)
Handful roasted cashew nuts
Handful button mushrooms
3 tbsp vegetable oil (Rape seed or peanut)
2 cloves garlic chopped
2 cms ginger chopped
2 tbsp Soy sauce
2 tbsp Oyster sauce
1 tbsp mirin
1 tsp sesame oil

Method
Heat the wok over high heat until it starts to smoke lightly. Put in the vegetable oil and fry the onions until softened. Add the ginger, garlic and chicken and toss continuously until the chicken turns opaque. Meanwhile in a small bowl combine the soy sauce, oyster sauce and mirin and add into the wok. Mix until liquid is slightly thickened then add the red pepper and toss again for a few minutes until the pepper softens slightly. If  the wok become too dry or the ingredients catch pour a little water in. Finally add the mange touts button mushrooms, cashew nuts and sesame. Toss for about 20 seconds and then turn out into serving bowls